Assessing the usability of the angular momentum method for estimating whole-body inertia in humans: A case study

The moment of inertia (MoI) is an important parameter in biomechanical modeling that can influence the accuracy of kinetic estimations. The most commonly used approach to estimate MoI relies on anthropometric tables derived from a limited number of subjects, which may not account for subject-specific variability. This study evaluated the previously proposed angular momentum technique for estimating subject-specific body MoI in two healthy adult males. We were unable to obtain realistic MoI estimates using the angular momentum method, with MoI values being up to 36 times larger than reference values. Initial investigations revealed two promising alternative methods that yielded more realistic MoI estimates.